Rules

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(updated October 2025)

Objective
The objective of the National Twelve Bell Striking Contest is to promote excellent ringing on
twelve bells. The contest shall be held annually and the winning band awarded the Taylor
Trophy.
Contest Dates
Qualifiers shall be held on the 4th Saturday in March and the final on the 4th Saturday in
June. Variations (e.g. for Petertide or local circumstances) shall be notified via the Ringing
World and contest website at the earliest opportunity.
Venue Selection
A weight grouping of bells (The Weight Band List) will be consulted when selecting venues
for the final, such that bells of a variety of weights are selected over a period of consecutive
years. Qualifier towers should be of roughly the same weight as each other and that of the
bells for the final. There should be geographical clustering of qualifier towers when possible.
Entry Qualifications
4.1 Applications shall be invited from centres at which twelve bell ringing is organised
and practised. No centre may enter more than one team.
4.2 The closing date for entries to the contest shall be the Friday, 16 days before the
December committee meeting.
4.3 A list of potential participants shall be submitted to the committee by the advertised
deadline. Each team member must have current and regular association with the centre
they represent. No ringer may represent more than one band in any year’s contest. The
committee may accept or reject entries. Subsequent changes must be submitted to the
secretary not less than two weeks before a qualifier or final.
4.4 A confirmed band list must be provided to the Secretary a fortnight before the
contest. Teams may substitute ringers in the fortnight before the contest; a new band list
must be provided to the committee representative on the day of the contest. Any band which
includes names not previously approved by the committee will be disqualified.
Allocation of Teams
5.1 If an entry is received from the team hosting the final, that team, provided it has also
entered the previous three contests, will be granted a bye into the final.
5.2 The committee shall allocate teams to qualifiers at its December meeting by drawing
lots, seeking to include an equal number of teams (not exceeding nine) in each qualifier.
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National Twelve-Bell Striking Contest
Teams will be seeded based on previous contest performances. An equal number of teams
from each qualifier shall qualify for the final. The number of teams in the final shall not
exceed ten.
5.3 Teams will be drawn into pots (A, B, C and D) representing qualifiers but with no
venue being assigned. (If the qualifier venues are not geographically clustered, the
committee will then attempt to assign venues to each set of teams in order to minimise travel
distances.) Teams representing host towers will be assigned to the qualifier at their home
tower.
5.4 Teams will be seeded by taking the average placing of bands from the previous 3
years’ contests.
5.4.1 The same number of teams will be seeded at each qualifier. The committee will
decide at each year’s September meeting how many teams will be seeded. Eight teams will
be seeded for the 2026 contest.
5.4.2 Seeds will be divided into groups of two. For the 2026 contest, the seeds will be
paired thus: 1&8, 2&7, 3&6, 4&5. If two teams have the same seeding score, the result from
the most recent contest will prevail.
5.4.3 One pair of seeds will be drawn at each qualifier.
5.5 Following the draw of the seeded teams, the remaining teams will be drawn and
assigned to qualifiers in strict rotation.
5.6 Team withdrawal from qualifiers will not normally trigger a re-allocation unless the
distribution of teams is significantly unbalanced, in which case the committee may seek to
negotiate a re-allocation taking into account timing and seeding. Team withdrawal from a
final will result in its place being left vacant.
Practices at Contest Venues
6.1 There will be no practices at host towers in advance of the qualifiers. Teams
competing in the final will be allocated one 90-minute practice slot each by the host tower.
6.2 Practices shall not be allowed closer than the Sunday 13 days before the contest
(though they can be on that Sunday).
6.3 During the period from the draw to the Contest, non-host teams and individual team
members shall limit the amount of additional ringing they do at the qualifier venue at which
they are drawn and the final venue, over and above their usual contribution, to the formal
practice period agreed for that venue and allocated by the Contest Committee. The
Committee shall take a view as to whether or not a proposed or actual performance outside
the Contest itself is in the ‘spirit of the rules’ and may impose a sanction on a team or team
member, should that be considered appropriate.
Judges
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National Twelve-Bell Striking Contest
7.1 The committee shall appoint the chief judge for each contest at its September
meeting.
7.2 The chief judge, in consultation with the chair, shall be responsible for selecting
judging panels for the qualifiers and the final. Judging panels shall be considered for
ratification by the committee at its December meeting.
7.3 A person may not normally be appointed chief judge for either the final or a qualifier
unless they have previously been a contest judge. The judging panel for a contest final shall
normally consist of those who have previously judged at a qualifier.
7.4 The committee shall provide written guidance to judges. (‘Judges’ Notes.’)
7.5 The chief judge may recruit assistant(s) to undertake administrative tasks at the
contest.
7.6 Judges’ decisions at any stage of the contest are final.
Draw at Contest Venues
8.1 The draw shall take place at the time advertised in the Ringing World. All teams will
be entered into the draw whether or not they are complete. Each team will be allocated a
timeslot in which to complete their practice and test piece.
8.2 If a band is not complete when it is time for their team to start their test piece it will be
disqualified. If a band is complete in time to ring the test piece and is prepared to forfeit their
practice and rope adjustment time they will be allowed to do so.
Interruption of a Contest
9.1 If a clapper falls out or a rope breaks the fault will be repaired, if possible, and the
competing team will be allowed to start their competition slot again from the beginning. No
change will be made to the running order and the starting times for the following teams will
be adjusted accordingly.
9.2 In extreme other circumstances, if a team is interrupted, their band representative
should talk to the committee representative in charge of the contest who will make a
reasonable decision. In the event of an irreparable mechanical failure or permission being
withdrawn every effort will be made to re-arrange the contest through consultation with the
committee and teams. Any team unable to be present on the new date will have their entry
fee refunded.
Instructions for Conductors and Stewards
10.1 The conductors will be briefed after the draw to ensure they understand the below
procedure.
10.2 The time from entry to the ringing room to starting the test piece may be used by the
bands to practise as they wish. Practising must not start before the allocated timeslot.
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National Twelve-Bell Striking Contest
10.3 Rounds are not judged. It is the conductor’s responsibility to ensure that the touch is
in changes by the correct time and bands will drop a place if they do not comply. Teams are
asked to minimise the rounds at the end of the test piece and to leave the ringing room
promptly.
10.4 Qualifiers
10.4.1 Each band will have approximately 40 minutes in the ringing room.
10.4.2 Bands are asked to assemble at the entrance to the tower stairs 15 minutes before
their timeslot commences.
10.4.3 The steward will escort the band up the stairs so that they may enter the ringing room
as soon as the previous band has set the bells and take the previous band downstairs.
10.4.4 Each band must be in the changes of the test piece 15 minutes before the end of
their timeslot. The signal to the judges will be two whole pulls on 1,2 (i.e. 1-2, 1-2, 1-2, 1-2)
rung any time after 20 minutes of the timeslot have elapsed and immediately before starting
the rounds that precede the test piece.
10.5 Final
10.5.1 Each band will have approximately 30 minutes in the ringing room starting on the
hour and half-hour.
10.5.2 Bands are asked to assemble at the entrance to the tower stairs at 15 or 45 minutes
past the hour as appropriate.
10.5.3 The steward will escort the band up the stairs so that they may enter the ringing room
as soon as the previous band has set the bells and take the previous band downstairs.
10.5.4 Each band must be in the changes of the test piece by 15 or 45 minutes past each
hour as appropriate. The signal to the judges will be two whole pulls on 1,2 (i.e. 1-2, 1-2, 1-2,
1-2) rung any time after 10 or 40 minutes past each hour and immediately before starting the
rounds that precede the test piece.
Composition of the Committee
11.1 The contest shall be planned and organised by a committee which shall be convened
annually immediately following the contest and which shall serve until the conclusion of the
subsequent contest. The committee will meet three times a year: immediately following the
presentation of the results at the final; on the first Sunday in September; on the first Sunday
in December.
11.2 Each of the centres of ringing represented in the final of the contest and the centres
holding the highest placed runner-up position in each qualifier contest shall be entitled to
appoint one representative to the committee. A centre may change its representative at any
time by giving notice in writing to the secretary. Each member of the committee shall have
one vote.
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National Twelve-Bell Striking Contest
11.3 A chair, normally a committee member, shall be elected annually at the committee
meeting following the contest and shall be eligible for re-election. When a committee vote is
tied, the chair shall have the casting vote.
11.4 The committee shall appoint a secretary who shall not be a committee member and
who shall not be entitled to vote at committee meetings.
11.5 The committee shall appoint an archivist who, if not a committee member, shall not
be entitled to vote at committee meetings.
11.6 The committee may appoint a Strikeometer coordinator who, if not a committee
member, shall not be entitled to vote at committee meetings.
Role and duties of the committee
12.1 Committee members should be prepared to attend three committee meetings each
year; carry out additional tasks as agreed at committee meetings in support of the work of
the committee; accept joint responsibility with the other committee members for ensuring a
successful contest; accept that committee membership involves a responsibility to the
Exercise and for the success of the contest, not just the band that they represent; support
and promote the work of the committee in the ringing community.
12.2 The committee shall decide the venues and test pieces for all contests; arrange the
dates of each contest in consultation with host towers; maintain a plan of venues for future
years; invite entries to the contest from centres of 12 bell ringing; review entries from bands
for compliance with contest rules; allocate bands to qualifier contests through the drawing of
lots and the use of seeding arrangements; approve the accounts annually and determine
the contest entry fee; manage the budget including the cost of engraving and insuring the
Taylor Trophy and other necessary administrative expenses; maintain an archive of the
contest; publish detailed procedures and guidance on the administration of the contest;
develop the contest, to ensure its continued success and quality; carry out surveys of bands
and undertake research to ensure effective decision-making; make such decisions that are
required to ensure a successful contest.
12.3 The committee shall have the power to vary these rules only by a decision of a
majority of those eligible to vote.
Copyright
All copyright, and any associated intellectual property rights and moral rights, in any work
undertaken or produced by any persons (including but not limited to team members, judges,
committee members, stewards, Strikeometer operators and technicians) as part of the
contest will vest in and belong to the committee.

National 12-bell Striking Contest

for the Taylor Trophy

Rules